Its the same thing you have 100s of people who are physical fit, driven, and want it but in the end only a few make it. It all comes down to basically for lack of a better term heart. Those who don't break are the ones who make it. If you can develop this attitude of not quitting even when you really want to because you haven't slept in days, all your muscles are aching and shutting down, your majorly calorie deficient. Everything screams at you to give up it can't possibly be worth it, but you persevere anyways that is what it takes to be at the top and stay at the top.

Being in the right place at the right time. Getting into the right sport at the right time. Using that time effectively. Eating the right amount at the right time. Training the right amount at the right time. Being born at the right time. Having good timing against punches, kicks, subs, escapes.

Everything comes down to timing.

tim·ing (t m ng) n. 1. The regulation of occurrence, pace, or coordination to achieve a desired effect, as in music, the theater, athletics, or mechanics.

Please allow me to rephrase.
It can't based on strength because weight classes physically limit the amount of muscle you can pack onto your body. Also, some of those fighters I posted have fought heavier fighters than themselves and still won.

Some fights or portions of fights are determined on strength, some by technique, some by conditioning, some by strategy, some by other physical attributes. GSP, Benson Henderson, and Jon Jones use their superior strength and explosiveness frequently. Many champions' successes are indeed partially based on physical qualities, the level of which is affected by natural variation as well as training.

Originally Posted by Cuddles

It can't be based on experience because I'd assume that the previous titleholder before them has fought more matches than them. And that their first few pro matches were matched against veterans of the sport. However, they still won (usually). Why is that?

Perhaps saying it can't be based on training was wrong. I meant the style of fighting more of. For instance, for those boxers, they all train with world class coaches with drills that work on the same things: footwork, movement, positioning, punching speed, power, etc. Thus they should be about the same in terms of training... level? Realistically, it doesn't translate as neatly as that, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.

It seems like in your effort to determine the root cause of success, you are dismissing variability in these factors. Physicality varies. Coaches vary. Training methods vary. Coachability varies. Genetics vary. These are major causative factors.

Anderson Silva was probably born with natural talent and he develops that talent into skill and speed with specific training methods that are not the same at other camps. I bet Cain Velasquez has ten times the wrestling experience of, say, JDS. His fighting style, as well as Anderson Silva's, is quite different from other fighters. Most likely, the quality of Jose Aldo's kickboxing training, and the degree to which he picked it up, is not equivalent to that of other lightweights. GSP might be one of the most coachable, well-disciplined fighters of the past century.

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

how are these fighters able to dominate? Why are they better than the other competitors? Surely it can't be just talent or the training they do, as there are plenty of talents in the sea of fighters. And it can't be strength, as they compete in weight classes. And it can't be experience as they fought other weathered pro fighters.

So what is it?
What allows these fighters to stand above the rest? What allows them to dominate within the ring? Is it how they punch? Footwork? Coaches?

I have never fought anyone in a ring or a cage. I have only sparred. Full contact in TSD back in the day and hard sparring only for a brief time trying to learn MMA, so I'm only qualified to guess. I feel memorable champions are those who are willing to risk everything. And like some, champs may have developed better ways of addressing and processing their fears.

His heart was visible, and the dismal sack that maketh excrement of what is eaten.

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Posted On:3/27/2013 8:36am

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This subject interests me. The subject of greatness in general, not just fighting. I've given it a lot of thought.

I think one of the biggest factors is the quality and intensity of their early training in whatever the activity is. One thing I've noticed is that the people who turn out to be the greats are very often great early on in their training. They continue to develop throughout the years but they were already the **** after a short period of time. Some examples that jump out at me:

I've noticed this with many famous guitarists. They practice hard and get good early. Slash picked up a guitar for the first time when he was 14. By the time he was 20, he was writing the riffs for Appetite for Destruction and he had already been playing professionally for a couple years by then. When he started playing, he skipped school and played for like 12 hours per day.

Same with Eddie Van Halen. During his early years he sat in his bedroom and practiced. That's pretty much all he did. Compare this to players who plug away for decades and still suck ass. I think intense early practice creates a synergistic effect. Normal players may have the same amount of practice after 10 years that Ed had after two years, but they're still not as good at 10 years as he was at two.

Tiger Woods comes to mind. Everybody has seen the videos of him as a kid practicing his ass off with his father jingling change in his pocket to distract him.

Oh yeah - the Jacksons, learning to dance and sing with Joe all up their ass pushing for perfection.

Football players. When you're watching an NFL game on Sunday how often do you hear the phrase "son of a coach" or something to that effect when they're talking about great players?

Take a look at those you think are great. Research their earliest training and find out at what point they really began to stand out. For most of the best, it was very early on. You'll find exceptions of course. I'm not trying to make it out to be some hard and fast rule. Just my observations.

Ever heard of the story of the drowned sailors?
Sailors who were about to drown prayed for their rescue and later tell of how their spirituality has saved them...
Problem is, nobody is telling you the story of the sailors who just prayed as vigorously and much and didn't make it.

For everybody who makes it (be that sports, film, musik etc.) there are thousands who didn't make it but nobody is talking about them or looking at them.

For somebody to become outstanding I think a couple of things have to come together...
Talent, dedication, timing, luck/fortune/chance.
If you are lacking any of them, you won't make it. That is why peoples feats are considered so memorable because it is so hard to come by all of them at the same time.

His heart was visible, and the dismal sack that maketh excrement of what is eaten.

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Posted On:3/27/2013 9:00am

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Originally Posted by franginho

For somebody to become outstanding I think a couple of things have to come together...
Talent, dedication, timing, luck/fortune/chance.
If you are lacking any of them, you won't make it. That is why peoples feats are considered so memorable because it is so hard to come by all of them at the same time.

Talent - okay, but talent is hard to define. Dedication - for sure. Timing, luck, fortune, chance - to a certain degree. For instance, pro athletes have to have some luck on their side regarding injuries. But many of the greatest people in their chosen professions are so good they can't be denied. Timing, luck and all that **** means way less for them.

I think the luck argument was more valid a couple decades ago. Now, it's a hell of a lot easier to get noticed if you're better than everyone else at something. This is especially true of fighters. It's pretty hard not to get noticed when you leave a heap of broken bodies in your wake.